San Diego  The co-owner of a La Jolla luxury car dealership accused of being a “straw donor” who made illegal contributions to local political campaigns pleaded guilty Thursday to eight misdemeanor charges.

Marc Chase, 52, entered his pleas at the same federal court hearing at which he was arraigned on campaign finance crimes, including conspiracy, aiding and abetting contributions by a foreign national and making a conduit contribution in connection with a federal campaign.

U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bartick scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 13. The judge told Chase he could face up to eight years in custody and fines of as much as $800,000. In the meantime, Chase will be allowed to remain free on his own recognizance.

Then, on Thursday evening, the San Diego Ethics Commission, which investigates and enforces violations of city election law, approved an agreement with Chase in which he will pay $80,000 in fines for his role in distributing the tainted donations.

Prosecutors have said Chase, who co-owns La Jolla's Symbolic Motor Car Company, made donations to various San Diego political races on behalf of Mexican businessman Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, whose family owns homes in Coronado.

It is illegal for a non-U.S. citizen to donate to local elections.

Azano is accused of funneling about $600,000 into the 2012 mayoral campaigns of Bob Filner and Bonnie Dumanis and the congressional campaign of Rep. Juan Vargas, according to court documents and other records.

City Hall lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes and campaign services manager Ravneet Singh are accused of helping facilitate the donations. They have pleaded not guilty.

Retired San Diego police Detective Ernesto Encinas, who was charged with Cortes and Singh, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and filing a false tax return.

According to court documents, Azano was one of Chase’s biggest customers between 2010 and 2013. In that time, Azano bought $9 million in luxury cars from Chase, as well as expensive watches and artwork.

As part of his plea, Chase admitted that Azano told him in 2011 to recruit friends and relatives so that each would make the maximum possible donation of $500 to “Candidate 1” in the 2012 mayoral race. Sources have identified that candidate as Dumanis.

One of Azano’s employees gave Chase $10,000 and a stack of envelopes, according to the plea agreement. Chase distributed the money among employees, contractors and acquaintances, asking them to make the donations.

He also admitted to making three large contributions, totaling $180,000, to the campaigns of two other candidates in September and October 2012.

Court records say one candidate was Filner. Sources say the other was Vargas.

On Thursday, Bartick also accepted an agreement to defer prosecution of two businesses Chase owns — South Beach Acquisitions and West Coast Acquisitions — for at least five years. The agreement was filed in court under seal, keeping it secret.

Chase’s lawyer said outside court that his client had made a mistake, and that pleading guilty was the beginning of the process for him to accept responsibility.

“This was something that we had been in discussions about for a while,” Guadalupe Valencia said, adding that Chase has a long history of doing charity work through his companies and donating millions for children and other causes.

“He’s hoping that this case doesn’t tarnish that image,” the attorney said.

The ethics commission opened its own investigation into the matter in August and has collaborated with the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office on the larger probe.

The commission is an administrative enforcement agency that regulates the city’s campaign and lobbying laws. It can levy fines of up to $5,000 per violation. The fines are paid to the city's general fund.

By acting as a straw donor, the commission said, Chase hid the identity of the true source of the funds, allowing Azano to circumvent the $500 contribution limits.

"Campaign money laundering is among the most egregious violations of the City's campaign laws," John O'Neill, the commission's vice chair, said in a statement Thursday. "The stiff penalties imposed today should serve as an important reminder that anyone who participates or assists in the laundering of contributions in City elections will be held accountable."

The commission's executive director, Stacey Fullhorst, said the timing of the settlement was a coincidence and not connected to the guilty plea earlier in the day.

She declined to say whether the commission was continuing to investigate others linked to the federal investigation.